This invention relates to a gas bag module for installation in a vehicle steering wheel.
A gas bag module comprising a carrier, a gas generator mounted to the carrier, and a multi-function conductor film is already known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,595. The multi-function conductor film is embedded in a cover which in the rest condition covers a gas bag to be inflated by means of the gas generator. The multi-function conductor film is provided with a plurality of switches, by means of which for instance the air-conditioning system or the radio system of the vehicle in which the gas bag module is mounted can be controlled. What is disadvantageous in the known gas bag module is the fact that the multi-function conductor film is mounted in an area of the gas bag module through which the gas bag is deployed upon activation of the gas generator. Therefore, both during the construction and during the assembly care must be taken that the conductor film together with the switches mounted thereon neither impairs deployment nor endangers a vehicle occupant during deployment.
Thus, it is the object of the invention to further develop a gas bag module as mentioned above such that a simpler construction is obtained at lower cost.
This is achieved in a gas bag module which comprises a carrier, a gas generator mounted to the carrier, and a multi-function conductor film. The multi-function conductor film is disposed on a rear side of the gas generator and on a rear side of the carrier. In this way, a conventional, inexpensive cover can be used for the gas bag, while at the same time a multi-function conductor film can be used. The latter allows to integrate a multitude of functions in a single component, which can then be connected with a single plug. Thus, the conductor film allows to both connect and ground the gas generator as well as integrate a multitude of further functions, for instance a horn contact for actuating the horn. For transmitting the signals for the various functions, either plugs may be provided at the conductor film, which plugs are plugged into counterplugs at the steering wheel during the assembly of the gas generator, or actually switch areas which are closed or opened by pressing onto an actuation surface on the steering wheel. In this way, a multitude of functions can be switched with a minimum effort.